SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Community Foundation of the Ozarks and its large affiliate foundation network have created mass plantings of 50,000 daffodil bulbs across the region, which will bloom in the spring to commemorate the CFO’s 50th anniversary in 2023.
The daffodils have been planted in Springfield and 40 of the CFO’s affiliate communities stretching across the state from Joplin to Cape Girardeau and Hermann to the Arkansas border.
In Springfield, two mass plantings will bloom at the intersection of National Avenue and Sunset Street and also at the Anne Drummond Deck at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park. The Drummond Deck project within the Springfield Botanical Gardens is especially significant to the CFO because Anne Drummond is considered an honorary founder in addition to the CFO’s 11 official founders who were members of the Greene County Estate Planning Council.
The projects across the affiliate communities were supported with grants of up to $1,000 each for planting, site preparation and related efforts. These mini-grants were made possible by the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation administered by the CFO in partnership with Commerce Trust Company.
Daffodils were selected for this anniversary project because they naturally spread and multiply over time as a symbol of the impact of philanthropy and planned giving. The daffodils are a mix of large cupped, trumpet and fragrant tazetta narcissus.
“We are so pleased to join with our affiliates in commemorating 50 years of philanthropy with these vibrant displays of growth and renewal for years to come,” CFO President Brian Fogle said.
For more information on the project’s progress, visit cfozarks.org/daffodils.
The CFO was founded in 1973 with initial assets of $1,500, which have grown to $375 million as of June 30. During that same time, the CFO and its regional affiliate foundations have made more than $500 million in grants and distributions. In 2023, the affiliate network will mark its 30th anniversary dating to the Nixa Community Foundation’s founding in 1993.
